1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to conveyor systems. In particular, the present invention relates to a cone line and conveyor system for poultry processing, and a method for using the cone line and conveyor system.
2. Description of Related Art
Presently, in the food processing industry, many meats are processed on an assembly line where workers place the animal to be processed on a conveyor system and workers downstream cut the meat from the bones. The meat is then processed or packaged for human consumption. To increase efficiency, multiple conveyors are used to convey the separate pieces of meat. In this way, once a cut of meat is removed from the bone, that meat can be placed on a conveyor belt, and, as other cuts are made, those pieces of meat can be placed on other conveyor belts. This allows the processing facility to separate out the different types and cuts of meat without a manual downstream separation process.
Currently, such as in poultry processing, different frames are built to accommodate the different conveyors. This can be bulky and cumbersome to do, particularly with how large and heavy the equipment can be. Because of the difficulty in lining up the different conveyors side by side, large tolerances are allowed in the manufacturing process. For example, if the inner conveyor is built larger than specified, as can happen in a manufacturing process, and the outermost conveyor is built smaller than specified, the conveyors may not fit together if the gap between the two conveyors is too small. Therefore, the conveyors are typically placed approximately 3.5 inches apart to accommodate such manufacturing tolerances.
However, such spacing between conveyors has significant limitations to the efficiency and cleanliness of the process. Particularly in the food processing industry, cleanliness is very important. A contamination of food can lead to an entire batch or order being discarded or recalled. Additionally, if any of the processed meat falls through the gap and touches the floor, that meat must be discarded because it has come in contact with the floor.
The spacing can also be difficult for workers, as the workers need to reach across the gap to perform their job function. Reaching a few inches farther can be straining when such reaching is performed continuously throughout the work shift. Additionally, extra conveyors can be added to systems, and each new conveyor will add another 3.5 inches in gaps. If four or five conveyors are used, this could result in the workers reaching an extra 14 to 17.5 inches.
Minimizing the gaps contributes to minimizing food waste, as smaller gaps will prevent the larger, more valuable items from falling through and coming in contact with the floor. However, it becomes a trade-off because smaller gaps make cleaning more difficult. Smaller gaps require smaller, more precise cleaning tools. The only way to improve the cleaning process is to eliminate the gaps completely.
Another limitation of using individually built conveyor lines is that it can be difficult to move items on one conveyor line over or under a second conveyor line. In traditional processing lines built with metal tubing, if one of the conveyor lines is to cross the other, there must be a gap in the tubing. Additionally, when one conveyor must cross over the other, the conveyors must be built at different elevations or one of the conveyors must increase in elevation where they are to cross. This further exacerbates worker fatigue, as workers transferring items between the conveyor lines must reach up or down between the two, needlessly increasing the workers range of motion.
Accordingly, such prior art processing systems are inefficient, difficult to clean, and/or not ergonomically conducive for workers.